Heretofore, devices used to measure the electrical characteristics of a ferroelectric material, such as its dielectric constant versus temperature or its dielectric constant versus electric potential, have been comprised of a temperature controlled plate and a holder for the ferroelectric material or device under test (DUT). In these prior art devices, the DUT is thermally connected to the temperature controlled plate and electrically connected to probes for measuring the actual dielectric constant change over a range of temperatures. Essentially, these devices require a very time consuming and manually intensive data taking procedure for taking such measurements. As a result, the DUT could be exposed to external air or unwanted environmental conditions for a significant period of time.
This exposure to unwanted environmental conditions (i.e. humidity), however, directly affects the accuracy and reliability of the desired measurements. Specifically, the lower the humidity, the greater the reliability of the measurement. As a result, the prior art devices tend to provide inaccurate and unreliable measurements.
Moreover, these devices fail to provide a quick-mounting means that is truly reliable for insuring that there is intimate thermal contact between the DUT and the temperature controlled plate. As a result, the DUT may not be fully exposed to the desired testing temperature, and thus add to the unreliability of the measurements.
As a result, those skilled in the art would greatly welcome any device that could measure a ferroelectric material's dielectric constant as a function of temperature with minimal exposure to outside or unwanted environmental conditions, in a more timely, more reliable, and less manually intensive manner.